Levi’s has been undergoing a turnaround for the better part of the past decade under Mr. Bergh, who joined the company in 2011. The company, based in San Francisco, has yet to return to its peak of the 1990s, but the executive has overseen an increase in sales to $5.6 billion last year, with net profit of $285 million. [Being publicly traded is the latest chapter in the story of the 165-year-old company.] “The job is not done, but this is a big step and acknowledgment of the progress that we’ve made,” Mr. Bergh said. Twenty years later, he and a business partner received a patent for “waist overalls” with metal rivets at points of strain — a garment known today as the blue jean.

Source: New York Times March 21, 2019 17:21 UTC